Department for Transport

Driving: Mobile Phones

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what datathey hold on the use of hand-held mobile phones by drivers; and what public information programmes, if any, they are planning to remind drivers of the laws on mobile phone use.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Drivers who use a hand-held mobile phone constitute a serious danger both to themselves and to other road users. According to the Department’s most recent observational survey in 2017, 1.1% of drivers were observed using a hand-held mobile phone while driving on weekdays in Great Britain. The Government has consulted on changing the law to broaden the offence and make it easier for the police to enforce it. It is important that we get the message across that using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is unacceptable. This summer THINK! will launch a large-scale campaign which will highlight the respect young men have for their friends who don’t take risks when driving; they are planning a mobiles-specific campaign based on this theme later in the year.

Swinderby Station

Lord Bradshaw: Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 April (HL15243), what plans they have to improve rail journey times to improve the competitiveness of rail compared to road journeys.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Midlands Connect are currently developing a proposal for line speed improvements between Lincoln and Nottingham, as part of their role promoting strategic transport investment across the Midlands region.

Driving: Disqualification

Lord Berkeley: Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 29 April (HL15320), how many times the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency revoked the driving licence of a driver who reached 12 points on their driving licence in each of the last 10 years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Only a court can disqualify an individual from driving under the “totting up” provisions whereby a driver can be disqualified by accruing 12 or more penalty points. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s role is to update the drivers' database with endorsement information received from courts. The table below shows the number of totting up disqualifications since 2017. Information is not available for the full period requested as endorsements are removed from drivers’ records after set periods of time in line with the requirements set out in law. As such, records for 2017 and 2021 are partial years. 20172018201920202021Total17,32638,86739,20534,02015,690145,108

Channel Tunnel: Freight

Lord Bradshaw: Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any scheme to encourage freight traffic to use the Channel Tunnel and HS1 rail link in order toreduce pressure on (1) the short sea crossing routes, and (2) the roads of Kent.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government supports the growth of the rail freight sector, both domestically and through the Channel Tunnel, and remains committed to unlocking the economic and environmental benefits rail freight can deliver through its better environmental performance and contribution to alleviating congestion on Britain’s roads. The Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme (MSRS) supports the carriage of freight by rail and water on routes where road haulage has a financial advantage, incentivising modal shift. In 2020/21, the Department allocated up to £20m to mode shift grants, a 28% increase in funding compared to 2019/20. These grants help to remove around 900,000 HGV journeys off the road each year. It is ultimately a commercial decision for rail freight operators as to whether to facilitate new services, but the Government is open to engaging with industry-led proposals and potential new operators where there is a commercial proposition.